New round of subpoenas expected in bridge probe

Jan. 29, 2014

Written by

Bob Jordan

@BobJordanAPP

TRENTON — Lawmakers have 20 subpoenas still outstanding in their investigation of the George Washington Bridge scandal but a fresh round of demands for documents and other information could be going out as soon as next week.

A board commissioner for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, William “Pat’’ Schuber, already is a subpoena target of state Sen. Loretta Weinberg — something Weinberg made clear before she was picked this week as co-chairwoman of the super committee investigating the bridge incident that has touched Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s administration.

But next, after Schuber, is anyone’s guess, said Eric Dixon, a New York attorney with experience in political investigations.

Dixon has reviewed a previous 2,000-page batch of subpoenaed documents and said he has “some names in mind’’ for future inquiries.

“Without saying precisely who, I would be going after people unlikely to be involved in the current investigations and thus would have no apparent self-incrimination concerns. Now if those people started taking the Fifth Amendment, it would signal a wider problem,’’ Dixon said.

Lawmakers appear to have gone past partisan squabbles that occurred Monday, when the new panel was formed, over how to process subpoenaed documents.

In floor debate, Republican Assemblyman Gregory McGuckin said it isn’t fair that Weinberg and co-chairman John Wisniewski, both Democrats, will have access to documents before others on the 12-member panel.

But committee members eventually agreed that the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services should be among the first to vet incoming documents, due next Monday, from the 20 subpoenas originally issued by an Assembly panel Jan. 16.

Wisniewski said he doesn’t expect requests for delays from attorneys representing the 18 individuals along with the Governor’s Office and Christie’s re-election campaign organization.

“When and if (the documents) come in, they’ll be sent into OLS. They’ll be reviewed by OLS and counsel and the chairs and they’ll be made available to the committee members,’’ Wisniewski said.

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Republican Sen. Diane Allen of Burlington County said that sounded good but added, “We need to be sure this committee maintains a bipartisan, transparent approach, as we all want to get to the bottom of the facts surrounding this issue. Unfortunately, I’m not sure the earlier formed Assembly committee held these same standards as not all committee members were given equal access to the committee’s attorney and subpoena decisions.’’

So far, four of Christie’s staffers and advisers have quit or been fired from their jobs after access lanes to the bridge were changed, causing massive traffic jams in Fort Lee for four days in September.

The investigation has uncovered an email from Bridget Kelly, Christie’s former deputy chief of staff, to a Port Authority official that appears to trigger the incident, but Dixon said the probe can establish a clear intent and identify who else was involved.

“I would want to establish customary organizational patterns. It would suggest the norm and might indicate whether either of these controversies fits a pattern or, on the other hand, suggests that someone went rogue and acted beyond their typical scope of authority,” Dixon said.